At De-Mentes, we seek a society free from stigma toward mental health, where it constitutes one of the priorities of the national public agenda. We initiated this project in 2014, toward the end of our university studies. The personal experience of Lucero, one of the founders of this initiative, was one of the key factors that propelled us to work on this issue: 18 years ago, her older brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, which led to a series of challenges for her and her family. However, living with stigma proved to be far more complicated than living with the diagnosis itself; thus, she and her parents became convinced that the path was not to hide the illness, but rather to learn about it and to communicate about their experience of living with it.
After learning about Lucero's experience and initiating conversations about working on a project that addresses mental health and the stigma surrounding it, all of us began to reflect on our own prejudices regarding the issue. We also discovered that most of us who make up this organization had experienced or were experiencing some mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety, which are among the most common in our country. However, it was not something we used to talk about, not even with those closest to us. How could that be?
SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY
The reality of mental health in our country is still precarious and, unfortunately, the stigma that exists toward it in our society exacerbates this situation. In fact, approximately 4 million Peruvians have some mental health condition, and the majority of them do not receive treatment. Moreover, according to the most recent research by the Instituto Integración, there are just over 500 psychiatrists in the entire country to meet such demand. The same study reveals that 46% of Peruvians would refuse to work with people with mental health conditions, and 75% would reject them holding public office. In the face of this reality, we decided to take action to change this situation.
De-mentes is now a nonprofit civil association dedicated to raising awareness and involving Peruvian society in the fight against stigma toward mental health, through communication and citizen participation actions. In this way, we seek to contribute to the prevention and promotion of mental health in the country.
We believe that information is key to mitigating stigma toward mental health, and we communicate this message in various ways. We have focused on carrying out urban interventions in order to raise awareness and inform society about the reality of mental health in our country. We have intervened in public spaces such as parks, squares, and other high-traffic areas, providing information through creative communication proposals that invite reflection on the issue and generate dialogue. We believe it is important to bring the issue of mental health and its situation in the country closer to people's public and everyday spaces. Society must be involved in this struggle, because mental health concerns everyone. We seek to engage the community by generating debate and sharing information through social media, but also by carrying out art projects and creating spaces for conversation.
PENDING TASKS
The institutionalization of individuals in psychiatric hospitals as the most common measure, or as the only one that many people in our society conceive of for the treatment of people with mental health conditions, only reflects how far we still have to go in our country. However, the recent approval of Law 29889 in our country, which opts for a community-based model of approaching mental health, is a great step toward a society that values people with mental health conditions more and stigmatizes them less. This law promotes the direct involvement of the community in prevention and promotion, through the implementation of community mental health centers that allow people to access mental health services in a specialized facility close to their homes.
Despite this, we are convinced that our work has only just begun; there is still much to be done to achieve that inclusive, empowered, participatory, and stigma-free society we dream of.
-Article published in issue No. 8 of Signos Magazine
